Kristen Saban was justified when she used physical force to protect herself during a 2010 confrontation with a sorority sister that was the basis of a lawsuit thrown out of court Tuesday.Tuscaloosa County Circuit Court Judge Jim Roberts cited Alabama's “stand your ground” law, in an order that dismissed the civil case against the University of Alabama's head football coach's daughter.

By Stephanie TaylorStaff Writer

Kristen Saban was justified when she used physical force to protect herself during a 2010 confrontation with a sorority sister that was the basis of a lawsuit thrown out of court Tuesday.Tuscaloosa County Circuit Court Judge Jim Roberts cited Alabama's “stand your ground” law, in an order that dismissed the civil case against the daughter of University of Alabama head football coach Nick Saban.According to sworn testimony and other evidence submitted in the case, Kristen Saban and a group of friends were at Saban's apartment after several hours of drinking on Aug. 29, 2010. Kristen Saban said she went into her room upset after Sarah Grimes told her to quit being “pathetic” about her relationship with a boyfriend.Grimes began beating on Saban's door after she posted “No one likes Sarah, yay” on Facebook, Saban's attorneys said. The confrontation turned physical after Saban, 23, opened the door. Grimes, 24, claimed that she suffered from a broken nose and a concussion. The judge ruled that Saban was justified under the state's self-defense law.“(Saban) was in her home, locked in her bedroom, when (Grimes) sought out (Saban) and initiated the confrontation,” Roberts wrote in the order dismissing the case. “The plaintiff's response to defendant's Facebook post was unreasonable and excessive.“The plaintiff initiated the confrontation when she sought out the defendant after the defendant had left the room where the argument had taken place, and by going to defendant's locked bedroom door yelling and demanding the post be taken down. When the defendant opened the door to an angry plaintiff within inches of her face, it was reasonable for the defendant to believe imminent use of unlawful physical force by the plaintiff was about to be used against her.”Saban's attorneys said that the Saban's refused to participate in a settlement.“We are happy for Kristen and her family that this nightmare is finally over,” Saban attorney Bob Prince of Tuscaloosa firm Prince Glover & Hayes stated in a press release. “The Sabans chose the difficult, but correct path of refusing to pay 'hush money' to avoid the negative publicity certain to follow the filing of these frivolous claims.”Grimes' attorney, Stephen Strickland of Birmingham, declined to comment.